Qui Nguyen is an American playwright, television writer, director and screenwriter. He is best known for his plays, '' She Kills Monsters'' and "Vietgone." He is also known for writing ''

Raya and the Last Dragon ''Raya and the Last Dragon'' ( ) is a 2021 American computer-animated fantasy action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 59th film produced by the studio, it wa ...

'' and '' Strange World''.

Career

He is a playwright, TV and film writer, and also an artistic director of the

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

and Caffe Cino Award winning

Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company is an Obie Award and Caffe Cino Award winning NYC downtown theatre company first established in 2000, with a mission towards the creation and production of theatrical events based in stage combat and dark comedy wit ...

, whose productions, penned and choreographed by Nguyen, have performed to sold-out audiences at the

New York International Fringe Festival The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across seve ...

, been published nationally in ''Plays and Playwrights 2005,'' enjoyed extended runs throughout the nation, and have been nominated for and received awards in movement and fight direction. In 2019 he won the

Porter Prize The Porter Prize, established in 1984 by the non-profit organization known as the Porter Fund Literary Prize, is awarded annually to a writer who has created a substantial body of work and has a significant connection with Arkansas. The $5000 prize ...

. Nguyen’s plays include ''Vietgone'', ''Soul Samurai'', ''The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G'', ''Alice in Slasherland'', ''Fight Girl Battle World'', ''Krunk Fu Battle Battle'', '' She Kills Monsters'', ''Trial By Water'', ''Living Dead in Denmark'', ''Stained Glass Ugly'', ''A Beginner's Guide to Deicide'', ''Men of Steel'', ''Bike Wreck'', and ''Vampire Cowboy Trilogy''. He is a member of New Dramatists,

Ensemble Studio Theatre The Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) is a non-profit membership-based developmental theatre located in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. It has a dual mission of nurturing individual theatre artists and developing new American plays. Overview The En ...

The Playwrights' Center The Playwrights' Center is a non-profit theatre organization focused on both supporting playwrights and promoting new plays to production at theaters across the country. It is located in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. In Oc ...

, and the

Ma-Yi Theater Company Ma-Yi Theater Company is a professional, not-for-profit, Obie Award and Drama Desk Award-winning theater company based in New York City that was founded in 1989. Ma-Yi Theater is headed by executive director Jorge Ortoll and artistic director Ra ...

's Writers Lab. He also began writing for Marvel Studios in 2016. His work with the Vampire Cowboys, particularly in the staging of martial arts, puppetry and multimedia use has been documented in a dissertation from the Drama Department at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

. In March 2019, he debuted ''Poor Yella Rednecks,'' a sequel to ''Vietgone'' at the South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, CA. In February 2020, he debuted ''Revenge Song'', a commissioned musical, at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. "Revenge Song" is currently running at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. Nguyen is developing a musical commissioned by the

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is a large performing arts venue at 300 South Broad Street and the corner of Spruce Street, along the stretch known as the Avenue of the Arts in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is owned and ...

with songwriter

Adam Gwon Adam Gwon is an American composer and lyricist living in New York City. Personal life Gwon was born in Boston, and spent his childhood in Baltimore before attending New York University Tisch School of the Arts. While studying acting at NYU, Gwon ...

. As a screenwriter, Nguyen has written on AMC's ''

Dispatches from Elsewhere ''Dispatches from Elsewhere'' is an American drama television series created by and starring Jason Segel that premiered on March 1, 2020, on AMC. It is based on the documentary film '' The Institute'' about the alternate reality game The Jejune ...

'', Netflix's '' The Society'', Syfy's '' Incorporated'', and PBS's ''

Peg + Cat ''Peg + Cat'' is an animated children's television series based on the children's picture book "The Chicken Problem", which was published in 2012. The series, which featured the voice acting of Hayley Faith Negrin and Dwayne Hill, was created by ...

''. He co-wrote Walt Disney Animation Studios' ''

'' along with

Adele Lim Adele Lim is a Malaysian American film and television producer and screenwriter. She is best known as a screenwriter for the 2018 movie ''Crazy Rich Asians (film), Crazy Rich Asians''. She has given support to young writers as mentor and speaker f ...

and wrote and co-directed Disney Animation's 2022 film '' Strange World''.

Filmography

Film

*2021: ''

'' - story and screenplay *2022: '' Strange World'' - co-director and screenplay

Television

*2012: ''

My America ''My America'' is a series of fictional diaries of children that take place during significant moments in American history. Created by Scholastic, it is a spin-off of the series, '' Dear America'', geared toward younger children (grades 3-5). The ...

'' - writer (1 episode) *2013-2018: ''

'' - staff writer (4 episodes) *2016-2017: ''Incorpated'' - staff writer (9 episodes) *2019: ''The Society'' - writer (1 episode) and executive story editor *2020: ''

'' - writer (1 episode) and executive story editor

References

External links

* * American writers of Vietnamese descent 1976 births Louisiana Tech University alumni Living people Action choreographers People from El Dorado, Arkansas Writers from Arkansas 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American male writers American male dramatists and playwrights Walt Disney Animation Studios people {{US-playwright-stub